Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.42, but opened at $27.00. Golden Entertainment shares last traded at $26.36, with a volume of 9,491 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GDEN shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Golden Entertainment in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.86.

Golden Entertainment Stock Up 3.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $693.79 million, a PE ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 2.29.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of Golden Entertainment stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.26, for a total value of $518,478.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,116.16. The trade was a 21.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 12,712 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Golden Entertainment by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in Golden Entertainment by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 3,697 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Golden Entertainment by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 363,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,491,000 after buying an additional 11,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Golden Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $677,000. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golden Entertainment Company Profile

Golden Entertainment, Inc owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations.